~Alicia “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” -John Lennon

We’re doing this challenge at work and as I began reading for the first two weeks (5 two week segments in all), I thought it might be worth posting my notes from the first half of the first section here….

Eat Right for Life (by Ann G. Kulze, MD) Challenge

First two week challenge is “Do your fats right”

Low fat diets have the same cardiac risks as higher fat diets. This is per a study following over 49,000 women ages 50 – 75 for a period of eight years. It’s not how much fat you eat, but what kinds of fats.

The benefits of choosing healthy fats include:

Improved neurologic and mental health Protection from some cancers Decreased risk of type 2 diabetes An improved blood fat (lipid) profile A more efficient metabolism Decreased inflammation in the body

The Two Bad Fats

Trans Fats ”Simply put, trans-fats are poisons. They are truly toxic substances and represent the unhealthiest ingredient in our food supply. …There is no known safe limit for any amount of this sinister, noxious agent. I urge you to strive for a zero tolerance policy when it ocmes to trans fats.”

The Harvard-based Nurses’ Health Study offers great insight … Subjects who substituted a mere two percent of their daily calories from trans-fat with a healthier fat diminished their risk of cardiovascular disease by a whopping 53 percent….(and)… found that subjects with the highest trans-fat content in their blood cells were three times more likely to develop heart disease than those with the lowest levels….

A growing number of studies have linked those structurally bizarre fats to type 2 diabetes and a major contributor in the current obesity epidemic.”

How to Eliminate Trans Fats ”Thankfully, it is easier than ever to rid your diet of tans-fats. This man-made fat is only found in three basic categories of foods

Fortunately, regulation passed in 2006 mandates that all processed foods must list trans-fats as part of the standard nutrition facts labeling - so simply look at the nutritional labels. However, when eating out, anything fried could potentially contain trans-fats.

Also watch for something relatively new that might be just as or more dangerous than trans-fats and that is Fully Hydrogenated oils (interesterifried fats) - watch the ingredients on labels

Saturated Fats ”Saturated fat is the second type of bad, unhealthy fat. It’s easy to remember what saturated fats are and where they’re found if you think in terms of “four-legged fats.” Meaning, the fats in four-legged animals, namely cows, pigs and sheep, are largely of this variety and can be found in red meat, whole dairy products (whole milk, full-fat cheese, cream etc) and butter.”

The Toll Saturated Fats Take on Our Bodies Saturated Fats….

Clog your arteries (slow the flow in the “rivers of life” by increasing bad cholesterol. Slow the clearance of LDL (bad) cholesterol from the blood Directly stimulate the liver to make more of these particles Impair the function of HDL (good) cholesterol particles. A recent study from the Journal of American College of Cardiology added to previous evidence that even a single meal high in saturated fat can immediately impede normal blood flow.” Are linked to several chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, abdominal obesity, colon and pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and age-related vision loss.

”There is also some new, intriguing science that demonstrates how saturated fats affect the brain and appetite. For example, when scientists infused palmitic acid – a specific type of saturated fat found in dairy and beef – into lab animals, their brains sent signals to ignore appetite-suppressing hormones. Moreover, this effect was immediate and lasted for three days.”

How to Keep Saturated Fats at a Safe Level Limit red meat to two servings or less a week Restrict whole (full fat) dairy products Use butter sparingly

The book then goes into good fats and discusses several specifically. I’m just getting ready to read that part AND this is long enough already … and enough to think about. I know I’m going to be paying a lot more attention to the fats I eat.

Dee

"All things can be done for the one who believes." Mark 9:23

ï¿½Even if you are on the right track, youï¿½ll get run over if you just sit there.ï¿½ --Will Rogers

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